Tomislav Nikolic an honorary citizen of Berane

The municipality of Berane in northern Montenegro has unanimously decided to declare Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic its honorary citizen.

The Podgorica-based daily Vijesti is reporting about this, noting that the initiative met with the support of all 35 councilors from the “Zdravo Berane” SNP-DF coalition, and those from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

Councilor Radojica Zivkovic (Nova) spoke on behalf of those who proposed the initiative to say that the state of Montenegro and the area of Berane have unbreakable ties with Serbia.

“There is almost no household in Berane without one of their own in Serbia. The number of those who went to school and found jobs in Serbia, or received medical treatment there, is unthinkable,” said he.

Zivkovic then added that Nikolic “made a huge contribution to calming down tensions in the Balkans and connecting peoples in the region of the former Yugoslavia, and demonstrated a friendly stance toward Montenegro, that was never paternalistic.”

President of the DPS municipal branch Bogdan Fatic said Montenegro had “best relations with Serbia in the current moment on the level of presidents and prime ministers,” and that his party supported the initiative based on this.

Nikolic will receive the charter making him Berane’s honorary citizen during a meeting of the local assembly scheduled for July 21, when the municipality marks its day, writes the newspaper.